Fuel vaporizer



April 20, 1937. T. o. LlLES v 2,077,764

FUEL VAPORI ZER Filed Feb. 10, I936 azz/w IN VENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 20, 1937 UNITED STATES. PAT T Lori-"loaf I r 2 mxlmim I v Thomas 0. Llles, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Liles 2 Fuel Vaporizer Corporation, Tyler, Tex, a corporation ofvTexas Application February 10, 1936, Serial No. 63,284

3 Claims. (or. 257-246) This invention relates to fuel systems forinternal combustion engines and more particularly to the means whereby the temperature of the fuel 1 and air is regulated or controlled in its passage 5 to the carburetor. I

A further object of the invention isto provide novel means'for heating both the fuel-and the air forming the charge by a common meanspin which the temperature of the one aflects that of the other.

' A further object is to provide a practical means for maintaining a quantity of so called low grade or base fuels such as distillate at-a temperature near the vaporization point, by utilizing heat from the exhaust of the engine,

It has long been, known that distillatesand the like possessed fuel values in excess of gasoline, however, the demands for smooth running of the engine and delivery of its'power have not heretofore been met in a practical manner when burning low grade fuels, due to thelack of a suitable means for controlling the temperature of the charge. I have provided a practical means for this purpose, and one which is readily and instantly responsive to varying conditions of engine operation and load demand; also a means readily adjustable to accommodate fuels whose vaporization points vary.

Other objects will readily appear and be understood along with the ones hereinabove enumerlowing description together with the accompanying drawing, wherein:--

in section of my 1188181. v Figure 2 is a section along 2-2 of Figure 1.

portion of Figure 1.

In the several figures like references designate III is the heater having an outer member ll,

erably joined together at it, open attheir lower ends it and having a communicating passageway hereinafter more readily appear;

The outer portion II and the' inner portions to their lower extremities as by providing a per- 50 forated ring member it through which studs l! in member ll of the heater to'threadedly engage inner members l2. The perforations i8, permit ated by mechanics skilled in the art from the fol- Figure 1 is an elevation, partly Figure 3 is an enlarged detail of the upper similar parts.

and inner members l2-l2; the latter being pref- 5 -ll near their upper ends for purposes which will l2l2 of heater II are Joined together adjacent pass, after being received by convenient openings air to enter space it between the outer and inner l6 walllorthaheaterwhichspacemaybepartially Qpassupward about thefuel coil and the thermofilled with a suitable medium 20 for filtering ioreign substances such as dust, etc., from the air as it travels thru passage it into intake 2i of a conventional carburetor (not shown).

The heater may be conveniently mounted upon 5 the exhaust pipe 22 of an internal combustion engine as by providing clips 23 for engaging the exhaust pipe 22 and flanged portions '24 o! the heater. An opening 25 is provided in the exhaust 22 which registers with open ends l4l4'of sections i2-I2 of the heater. The arrow indicates the direction of normal flow of the hot exhaust gases from the engine. 20 is a butterfly valve, pivotally mounted as at 21 by which registering openings "-14 and 25 are thermostatically opened and closed as the operation requires. 28 is a thermostat, the outer arm 29 of which is connected to butterfly valve 28 by rod 30. Thermostat 28 is mounted upon pin it which latter projects thru and is rotatable in its bearing in inner housing l2, and on its outer end isprovided with crank 32 which has a rod 32 pivotally attached thereto and projecting upwardly thru the outer housing of the heater and is threaded at its outer end and there received by adjusting nut 84 by which means thethermostat may be so adjusted as to cause the butterfly valve to open or close the openings Il-ll and 2! at the temperatures desired. a A fuel line 3! leads from a gravity tank located above the carburetor or from a fuelpump not shown and, enters one of the elements l2 and is there formed into a coil 28' as it extends downward into the'most intense heat area in the element l2 and then leads out as at 38 to. the carburetor where the heatedfuel is mixed with the heated air from the outlet 2| of the heater and vaporized for admission into the combustion chamber of the engine.

The operation is as follows: 40 Through adjusting nut 34 thethermostat is set to cause the butterfly valve to open wide into the exhaust manifold to intercept exhaust gases from the engine when it is started, which stat. thence through opening I! and downward through the other inner element l2 and back into the exhaust pipe 22.

As the temperature rises in the heater the fuel in the coil will absorb some of this heat to bring its temperature up to so entering the heater, and thereby control the temperature of the fuel and air passing through the heater to the carburetor.

Since different fuels vaporize at different temperatures, it remains only for the operator to adjust the thermostat to provide for the desired temperature for most eificient operation, and obtain the maximum power from any given fuel.

If the fuel used will vaporize at normal atmospheric temperatures the thermostat is adjusted to cause valve 26 to be fully closed Whereupon none of the exhaust gases pass through the heater. I prefer to mount my heater in or nearly in an upright position as in this way foreign substances filtered'out of the air by the medium 20 will have a tendency to fall by gravity out of the line of passage.

It will be noted that a balanced temperature between the air and the liquid fuel is obtained. which permits of vaporization of the fuel and properly mixing it with the air as the two are brought together in the carburetor.

What I claim is: r

1. A charge heater. for internal combustion engines comprising an outer member and an in her member with an air passage between said members; the inner member embracing a liquid fuel coil and communicating directly with the exhaust of the engine at one end providing for the passage therefrom of the exhaust gases, the fuel coil being disposed within the path of travel of said exhaust gases.

2. A charge heater for internal combustion engines comprising an outermember and an inner member with an air passage between said members; the inner member embracing a liquid fuel coil anda thermostat and providing a passage communicating directly with the exhaust of the engine, the fuel coil and thermostat being disposed within the path of travel of said exhaust gases within the said passage.

3. A charge heater for internal combustion engines comprising an outer member embracing an .said inner members and a liquid fuel coil disposed within the first of said inner members and within the line of travel ,of exhaust gases there through.

' THOMAS O. LILE S. 

